A maxim in college basketball holds that good guard play is essential to success.
Kentucky’s 86-61 victory over Albany on Monday night served as testament to that truth.
With Oscar Tshiebwe hobbled by foul trouble for a second straight game, Kentucky rode the guard play of TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler and Kellan Grady to victory.
Washington, Wheeler and Grady combined for 49 points. Washington, who equaled his season high of 20, scored inside and out. Wheeler, who added 15 points and seven assists (and five turnovers) continued to defy the thought that a 5-foot-9 player cannot continually drive to the basket without getting his shot blocked.
Grady added 14 points.
Kentucky improved to 4-1 even though it committed 17 turnovers.
Turnovers had been an ongoing concern of Albany’s.
After saying Saturday that facing Kentucky was a “massive challenge” for his winless team, Albany Coach Dwayne Killings said, “You’ve got to take care of the ball. You have to value possessions.”
And, he added, “you’ve got to be super competitive.”.
Albany, which slipped to 0-5, limited its own turnovers. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a second straight Kentucky victory fueled by second-half superiority.
Kentucky was up 37-28 after an imperfect first half.
Rebound domination helped UK take the lead for good 96 seconds into the game. But three assists and nine turnovers prevented UK from establishing a larger lead at the break.
These stats both confirmed and defied expectations.
Kentucky was supposed to dominate the backboards. UK came into the game ranked No. 2 in Division I in rebound margin (plus 19.4).
Meanwhile, Albany was ranked 318th of 350 Division I teams after being outrebounded by an average of 6.5 rebounds a game.
Speaking of rebounding, Tshiebwe started out seemingly determined to make amends from his foul-plagued performance against Ohio on Friday. He had four points and four rebounds with 17:34 left in the first half. He ultimately posted his fourth double-double (12 points and 14 rebounds) in five games.
But foul trouble arose again. Tshiebwe picked up his first at the 16:49 mark when trying to get an offensive rebound.
Perhaps wanting to avoid a second quick foul, UK Coach John Calipari replaced Tshiebwe with freshman Daimion Collins. But Collins was ineffective, which led to Tshiebwe returning at the 14:54 mark.
A second foul — this time a charge as he tried to make a post move — came with 4:48 to go before the break.
Tshiebwe finished the half with six points and nine rebounds.
An 10-0 run gave Kentucky a 25-14 lead with 8:33 left.
A drive by Sahvir Wheeler capped the run.
But the half was not a joyride.
Kellan Grady went to the bench after he left Albany’s best three-point shooter, Matt Cerruti, who capitalized by hitting a three.
Later, De’Vondre Perry, perhaps Albany’s best all-around player, drove by freshman Bryce Hopkins and easily dunked when no defender rotated to contest the drive.
Turnovers were a surprise in the half. UK had nine.
Meanwhile, Albany had only four. The Great Danes came into the game averaging 16.5 turnovers a game.
The opening minutes of the second half suggested more problems for Kentucky.
Tshiebwe picked up his third foul with 18:45 left. Less than two minutes later, Collins picked up his third foul.
Albany missing eight of its first 10 shots of the second half helped Kentucky stay ahead.
Complications continued for Kentucky.
With 13:43 to go, Tshiebwe picked up his fourth foul. For the second time, he was called for fouling while trying for an offensive rebound.
It was incidental to the game’s outcome.
Next game
North Florida at No. 10 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m. ET Friday
